Page 52 of Hideaway

“Is it safe to drink?”she asked, eyeing the coffee cup suspiciously.

“It’s coffee beans and hot water. I doubt there’s much I could do to render it dangerous for consumption.”

“Never doubt your abilities,”Kara answered with a sarcastic laugh.

“Just drink,”Cade said, rolling his eyes as she hesitantly took a sip.

“Mmm, tastes good actually,”Kara confirmed in surprise.

“See, I know what I’m doing,”he answered, giving her a light nudge on the shoulder.“Now, forks.”

“They’re in the second drawer to the left,”Kara instructed, feeling magnanimous enough to save him from another scavenger hunt in the kitchen.

Cade came back with a single fork in his hand.“We can share,”he declared mischievously.

“I should have known you would try to put something in my mouth.”

“An excellent idea for later,”Cade answered with a salacious smile.“But for now, cake.”Cade indelicately thrust his fork into the side of the cake and scooped up a piece that was a fair amount bigger than bite-sized.“Open up,”he instructed.

With a measure of embarrassment, Kara opened wide, feeling rather like an infant being spoon-fed. Cade fed her the forkful of cake, getting a smudge of buttercream on her cheek as he put it in her mouth. Kara tried not to giggle as she struggled to chew the huge piece of cake with as much ladylike decorum as possible. As doubtless was his intention, she did not succeed. Cade wiped the frosting from her cheek with his finger, bringing it to his mouth for a taste.

“Mmm, delectable,”Cade judged in approval.“I think I’ll have to try some more,”he said as he drew close and kissed the sugar sweetness from her lips.

“My turn,”Kara announced, snatching the fork from Cade’s hand as he went in for another kiss.“Open up,”she mimicked, digging into the cake to achieve the largest bite possible.

Cade obeyed dutifully, downing the cake in what appeared to be a single gulp. Dissatisfied with the ease in which he had consumed his portion, Kara swiped her finger along the side of the cake and deposited a large dollop of frosting directly onto Cade’s nose. She stifled a giggle as Cade stood there in stunned silence for a moment. Collecting himself, Cade launched a counterattack and buried his face between her breasts, smearing the frosting across her chest.

“Oh no, I seem to have made a mess,”Cade said with a devious grin.“Here, let me clean you up.”Cade unfastened the front clasp on Kara’s bra—she was lucky to have made it that far into the night with it on—and set about kissing, nipping, and licking her tits until any remnant of frosting had been wiped clean.

“I believe you’ve tasted quite enough of me tonight,”Kara scolded as she fought to push him away from her breasts.

“What can I say, you’re like a craving I can never satisfy.”

“Well, the only craving I care about satisfying right now is my sweet tooth,”she said as she dug the fork into the cake, this time taking a bite for herself.

“Allow me,”he said, stealing the fork from her hand and shoveling another bite into her mouth. He quickly fed himself before thrusting more cake into Kara’s mouth.

“Slow down,”she choked out with her mouth full.

“With your body this exposed, you aren’t going to make it much further tonight without being fucked. So unless you want me to take you here on this counter, eat up.”

“Yes, sir,”she answered obediently after a quick gulp of the remaining food in her mouth.

The words sent a jolt of excitement to more than just his cock, and Cade stood transfixed by the beguiling, baffling women who had serendipitously stumbled into his life. Or rather, she had been dragged into his life against her will, kicking and screaming along the way. And yet, there she sat, of her own volition, wrapped within his arms, her eyes full of warmth and hunger, her rosy lips begging to be kissed. He did kiss her, long and hard. She tasted like lemons and violets and sweetness. Their kiss deepened as Cade pulled Kara close and twisted his fingers in her hair. Cade wanted more. He wanted to consume her, body and soul. The feeling was both exhilarating and terrifying. When he finally pulled away, they were both breathless with desire and need. Cade tenderly ran his thumb along her bottom lip, swollen from the passion of their embrace, and turned his darkened gaze to meet hers.

“I’m rather fond of you, Miss Caine,”Cade said softly after a moment of heavy silence, his voice deep and rough. It was a simple confession, but Cade’s eyes burned with a depth of affection which seemed a great deal more than fondness.

“I’m rather fond of you too, Lord Ashford,”Kara retorted in the most dreadfully pompous British accent she could summon.

“God, is that really what I sound like to you?”Cade asked as he laughed out loud. He appreciated her attempt to lighten the mood of the room, which had been steering dangerously toward seriousness. Fuck, what was happening to him?

“Oh no, you sound much worse,”Kara answered teasingly.

“Alright, enough of your cheek. Time to get you to bed,”Cade announced as he lifted her off the counter.

“Ready to go to sleep already?”Kara asked with a suspicious raise of a brow.

“My love, you will be lucky if I allow you to sleep at all tonight.”

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